36 Stupefied

"Is doctor Loius in?" Leo asked the first nurse he saw immediately he entered the hospital with Mia.

He hadn't bothered to ask for any of his parents because he knew they were probably unavailable— either in meetings, conferences, impromptu trips or have medical emergencies to attend to.

"Oh... you must be his brother Leo King. Wow! I heard you were both identical but I didn't expect this." The young nurse exclaimed in surprise. 

Mia was behind Leo. Her mind was occupied so she had no idea what they were both talking about.

Was it not a bad idea to have followed him here? She asked herself as she wondered whether things would return back to normal if she just ran away from the hospital. 

"Yea." Leo replied the nurse with a polite smile before asking for his brother again.

"He is in the operating room right now. You are here for a check up?" She asked curiously. 

"For someone." He said, moving to the side to reveal a nervous looking Mia. 

"There is Doctor Lily. She is free now. You just have to make a quick appointment at the counter and she'll be attended to as soon as possible."  The nurse replied with a simple smile.

"Alright. Thanks." He said before turning to Mia and asked her to follow. 

When Mia was given a form to fill, she suddenly turned to look at Leo who was standing behind her.

"Mister...." She called softly. 

Leo turned to look at her curiously. He could not understand her. He just could not. Why did she look like a kid that was being bullied?

"I want to go home." She said in a small voice. 

"We are already here." He said through gritted teeth. He was beginning to run out of patience. 

"Even the consultation fee is high." She complained. 

"I told you I'll pay for it. Please..." He held her shoulders firmly and looked into her eyes. "I don't like seeing sick people or taking care of the sick. If you are not going to get yourself properly checked, I won't have any choice but to kick you out of my house." He threatened.

"So... you're saying.... on a long run, this is for you and not me right?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Then I don't need to pay you back right?— since you mentioned it is for you." She added cunningly. 

He pursed his lips and let go of her shoulders. "Just hurry up. I have things to do at home" 

He said impatiently before turning to go sit down. 

************

When Mia went to meet with Doctor Lily, he desperately prayed she didn't have a terminal illness. She looked like a kid who hadn't seen much or experienced much fun in her life and it would be sad for her to leave the world just like that. Even though he didn't like her, he had sympathy and empathy for people and it was the reason he was doing this— plus he didn't want her to die in his house. He hated seeing dead bodies.

Thankfully, she only had high malaria and hadn't been feeding well. 

"She'll be fine. I've given her a shot and some drugs. She just have to come here for the next three days to take the shots. And.. she has to eat well and take her drugs." Doctor Lily explained to him as she saw him off.

Doctor Lily was also a top doctor in the hospital.  She was approaching her thirties, tall, had a cute face and kind eyes. She had been working in the hospital for the past four years and everyone knew she had a huge crush on his brother, Doctor Loius, even though they all pretend not to know.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Doctor Lily asked Leo in a whisper. 

"What? Hell no!" He quickly rebuked it. 

The way he rejected it made her laugh out.  "She is not that bad. Why are you sounding that way?" She asked as she looked at Mia who was already walking through the door.

"Just forget about it. I'll see you another time. Tell Louis I said Hi" 

"Yea sure." She nodded and waved him goodbye.

    *************

"What have you eaten today?" Leo asked as he drove them back home.

As Mia was about answering, her phone began to ring. When she saw it was a call from her mother, her heart stopped almost immediately. Instantly, she took the call.

"Mum?" She asked with a bit of skepticism, as if afraid it wasn't her mother but someone else. 

"How are you child?" Her mother asked.

When she heard her mother's voice, a big smile appeared on her face.

"I am fine. I am very fine!" Mia answered happily as she sat up.

"How are you mum?" She asked back.

"I am okay. I need some help with the chores around the house so when you are free, drop by. There are also some breads for you to help me deliver." 

"No problem. No problem at all. I'm free. I'm coming now." 

When the call ended, Mia turned to look at Leo who was also looking at her in shock.

The car had stopped for a while because of the traffic lights so he had been watching her the whole time.

"That... was my mother" Mia said to him with a big, genuine smile. 

Before he could say anything else, she quickly unbuckled her seatbelts and opened the door.

"Thank you. I have to turn back." She waved him happily and began to run, leaving Leo totally stupefied.